England Athletics has partnered with StreetGames to deliver a training partnership focused on the #21by21 mental health awareness campaign.

The partnership will see England Athletics upskill volunteers working across athletics and running as part of 10 Youth Mental Health First Aid courses, provided by the charity.

#21by21 is a national campaign which aims to provide 21,000 community sport coaches and volunteers with mental health awareness training by 2021. The ‘first aid’ courses provide these individuals with the means, understanding and know-how to recognise and respond to the signs of poor mental health amongst young people.

England Athletics places a strong focus on mental health, through its #RunAndTalk campaign and the promotion of mental health champions and ambassadors within athletics and running. Soon it will also relaunch the #RunAndRevise programme to support young people facing exams.

SUPPORT

There are a limited number of places still available for volunteers to attend a training course.  For more details and to book onto a course click here.

Liz Purbrick, Inclusion Manager at England Athletics, said: “We’re really excited to be working with StreetGames to deliver this training in the run up to our #RunAndRevise campaign.

“Young people face a number of pressures from different areas of life, but we hope that regular physical activity through our amazing network of athletics and running clubs can support their mental health. This training will enable athletics and running volunteers to support young people to look after their mental health and access support if and when they need it.”

StreetGames’ Head of Sport and Health Paul Jarvis-Beesley, said: “By organising this training, England Athletics has taken a giant step towards helping young athletes and club members to stay mentally fit and healthy.

SKILLS

“As a national governing body, they are a leading light, and I very much hope others will follow their example.

“StreetGames is delighted to be supporting this very important campaign, and we can’t wait to begin delivery with England Athletics in March.”

The #21by21 campaign's target is to ensure sports coaches and volunteers have the three core skills needed to protect the people they work with: first aid, safeguarding and mental health awareness.

Managed by ConnectSport, the campaign features sport and mental health news and features from across the sector, and hosts a running total of sports coaches and volunteers that have been trained in mental health awareness by the campaign partners. It also showcases a number of providers for mental health awareness training schemes, so that organisations can upskill their coaches and volunteers.

Read more about the campaign at 21by21.info.